Separable fastener



May 2.7, 1930. R. F. wA|` Tr-:Rs

SEPARABLE 'FASTENER Original Filed July 24, 1924 linfilaalntllnlillnflllln no Ahr. .1 ,A ..45

Patented May 27, 1930 I viUNlTED vSTATES PATENT, OFFICE ROLLO F. WALTERS, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN, ASSIGOR, BY MSNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO

UNITED-CARR FASTENER CORPORATION, OF CAMBRDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, A COR- I IPORATION OF :MASSACHU'SETTSA SEPARABLE FASTENER Original application, filed July 24, 1924, Serial No. 727,960. Divided and this application led May 28,

- f 1928. Serial No. 281,181.

. VThisfinvention aims to provide an improved separable fastener particularly, though not exclusively, useful in connection with upholstery installations.

This application is a division of my prior application, Serial No. 7 27 ,960, filed July 2i, 1924.

In the drawings, which illustrate a preferred embodiment of my invention z- 10 Figure l is an elevation view of a door of an .automobile showing the frame and the ,stud-receiving apertures therein;

Fig. 2 is an elevation viewof the backing ofan upholstered'part, showing the studs secured thereto Fig. 8 isa section through the door frame Vand upholstered part, showing the stud partly in elevation;

Figl 4 is a fragmentary view of a portion of the upholstered part as viewed from'that side thereof at which the stud heads are presented.; Fig. 5 is an elevation view of the preferred form of shiftable stud; and Y Fig. 6 is an enlarged section on the ,line

6-6 of Fig. 4.

Referring to the form of my invention, as illustrated by the dra-wings, l have shown an automobile door, an upholstered part for ,covering the inside of the door and separable fastener means for securing the upholstered part to the door.

Heretofore the fastener elements have been rigidly secured to the frame of the door and to the upholstered part and some d iflculty has been encountered in registering the fastener elements on the upholstered part with the fastener elements on the door frame. To remedy this diiiculty, I have provided, as illustrated, a plurality of shiftable studs located on one-of the parts for engagement with rigid socket means on the other part, thereby permitting perfect alignment of any of the studs with their cooperating sockets.

Thus, the upholstered part may be secured rality of shiftable studs cooperating with the holes 2. These studs are secured to the front face of the backingby a casing or attaching plate 3, and their heads are presented,

through the holes 2, at the opposite face thereof for cooperation with the stud-receiving means on the part to be upholstered.

n the formcf my invention illustrated by thedrawings each stud is provided with an attaching plate,vherein'serving as a base loosely carrying the stud to permit shifting of the stud without correspondingshiftng of the base. Two types ofattaching plates are shown, eachproviding portions `overlying and underlying the base flange of the stud.

Each stud is assembled Vwith its attaching plate 3 at the factory, thereby to provide a stud unit which may be easily, quickly and accurately secured in the proper relation to a hole 2 in the backing ofthe upholstered part, by the use of proper dies for registry with the aperture and for holding the studattaching plate. The stud and attaching plate,.I term collectively a stud unit.

The socket-engaging part of the stud unit is pressed fromV a single sheet of ymetal and is provided with a base flanged, ashank porp tion 5, a head 6 and a neck 7 betweenthe head and shank portion. The head, neck and shank portions are rendered resiliently conytraetible by a plurality of slots, herein shown as three, which preferably, as illustrated, extend to or slightly into the base of the stud.

The casing or attaching plate 3,.which is pressed froma single sheet of metal, presents OOV a smooth bottom, an upstanding peripheral wall 8, a plurality of stud-retaining prongs 9 and attaching prongs l0 extending from the wall 8.

The stud may be assembled with the attaching plate by placing the base portion 4 of the stud into the recess provided by the upstanding Ywall 8 and then bending ini wardly the stud-retaining prongs 9 until they overlie the base of the stud, thereby holding the stud and attaching plate in assembled relation even prior to. assembly with thebacking, as best shown in Figl 6.

As illustrated, the diameter of the base portion 4 of the stud is less than the diameter of the attaching plate and the short prongs 9 do not extend to the shank portion 5 of thev stud,thuspermitting free lateral movement of the stud in any direction relative to the attaching plate.

Assembly of a stu-d with the backing lis elil'ected preferably by dies (not shown) which align the attaching plate 3' with a hole in the backing and force the attaching prongs l() through the backing, where they are upset against the opposite face thereof, as best show-n in Figs 4 and 5.

The holes in the backing are somewhat larger in diameter than" the diametersv ofthe Shanks of the studs, thereby permitting sufficient free movement of the studs in any late-ral direction relativel to the backing to Y compensate for variation in the exact positi'oning of the stud-receiving apertures. in the 'door or other part to be covered by the upholstery installation.

The advantages of securing the stud to the front face of the backing instead of the back face are, firstly, that for the same projection beyond the face of the installation, a shank portion 5 of considerably greaterl length may be used, thereby affording an opportunity for greater resiliency of the head of the stud, and, secondly, that the strain exerted on the stud when it is separated from the socket to which'v it is secured, is taken by a considerable area of the backing and not by the prongs, as when the studs are secured to the back face of the backing. The smooth bottoms of t-he studs, as shown in Figs. 3, 4, 5 and 6, promote smoothness of the covering ll in completed upholstery installation and permit the studs to be pressed into engagement with their sockets without injury to the covering 11, which conceals the studs from view.

l/Vhen the studs are all secured to the backing l, a padding 12' is placed over the backing to improve. the appearance of the edge of the upholstered part and to provide a surface which is generally in line with the bottoms of the stud-attaching bases. Thus the coveringll of cloth, leather or the like is stretched smoothly and evenly over the outer face of the backing and its edges are secured Vto the inner face of the backing, thereby providing a neat upholstered finish covering the outer face of the backing.

The door 13, to which the upholstered part is secured, may be, as illustrated, formed of the stud-receiving apertures, thereby holding the upholstered, part tightly against the frame of the door.

1f, any stud does not register with its cooperating a erture in the frame, the stud may be shifted, y the use o-fl a suitable tool inserted between the frame and the upholstered part, until it is in proper position to be pressed into engagement with its cooperating aperture. Thusadjustability of the positions of the studs is particularly importantwhere the sheet metal door covering and the flanges providing the frame 14 are integral, the lianges bent over after theholes thereinare punched. In such case, because of unequal stretching'rpof the metal, the stud-receiving apertures are exceedingly likely to be slightly out of' their desired positions. However, the capability of the 'studs to shift is desirable, even when the door frame' or other carrying part is drilled `4in a jig, and the backing punched ina similar jig. Where-the upholstered part is used as a covering for something other than a door, and particularly Awhere it is used with a heavily paddedcovering, the shiftability of the studs becomes even morev essential. y

rThe illustration of my invention and the description thereof is merely for clarification and not for limitation, my invention being best defined' in the appended claims.

Claims:

I. A fastener unit comprising, in combination, an attaching part, a number of attaching prongs spaced substantial distances apart and formed integral withv and extending from said attaching part for pi'ercingfa support to secure the fastener unit thereto, a

shiftable fastener part assembled with said attaching part and extending in the same direction as said' attaching prongs, and' means provided by the fastener unit rto secure. the attaching part and fastener part together while permitting transverse shifting of the fastener part in any direction transverse to the axis of the fastener unit.

2. A stud unit including a casing havinga peripheral wall, a wall extending inwardly at right angles from said peripheral wall, a laterally shiftable stud having a base located in said casing, said stud having a head and a. neck extending away fromsaid base, said base being smaller in diameter than the space enclosed by said peripheral wall to permit the lateral shifting of the stud, attaching prongs spaced substantial distances apart and extending from said peripheral wall for securing the stud unit to a support and ears extending inwardly from said peripheral 

